Dana Foundation President Caroline Montojo says the critical window of opportunity for neuroscience and society is now
How can the Dana Foundation continue to make the greatest impact [in the world]? This was the question that continued to pop up during our conversation with Dr. Caroline Montojo, president of the Dana Foundation, to discuss their new flagship project, the Dana Center Initiative.
The Dana Foundation is a philanthropic organization that works to support research in neuroscience and society. Of course, Dr. Montojo and the foundation already had an answer to the proposed question. She laid it out for me: “Neuroscience funding has really become robust, through both private and public support … [allowing for] so much science and technology [to blossom] into the world.” Dr. Montojo continued, “Now the needs have changed. The needs now have turned into: how is all this going to be used in the world by people and how will it most fit their lives?”
As scientific advancements are made the scientific community must thoughtfully consider how the innovations will be integrated into and benefit society. Researchers, funders, and policy makers must address if and where these technologies fit into society. How do consumers, patients, community members, and families feel about them? According to the Dana Foundation, the time to address these and other related questions is now. There is such a rapid advancement in neurotechnology and scientific discovery that it can become difficult for society as a whole to catch up. Dr. Montojo elaborated: without public discourse, education, and policy updates, neuroscience and technology “runs out ahead and shapes society for us” rather than society shaping the science. “If we’re not, as a whole field… proactively looking at the ethical issues and addressing them so that science and technology are shaped with community values included, then we may then end up at a point where neuroscience is influencing our lives in ways that many are not comfortable or might create inequities.”
Fortunately, the Dana Foundation, in addition to other civic-science organizations like the Rita Allen Foundation, have started to tackle this issue head on. In April 2024, the Dana Foundation announced the Dana Center Initiative . The initiative is rooted in the foundation’s mission of promoting the intersection of neuroscience and society, incorporating its 3 pillars: Dana Frontiers, Dana Education, and Dana NextGen (for more information read our last report here). After receiving over 40 pilot projects in response to their request for proposal, the Dana Foundation chose two universities to establish a partnership with under the initiative: UCLA in combination with Charles Drew University (CDU) and Loyola University of Chicago. Both universities impressed the Dana Foundation with how they centered their research in their respective communities of Los Angeles and Chicago. During our conversation, Dr. Montojo explained how these projects actually fit really well the foundation’s pillars. The research mission of the Dana Program for Neuroscience and Society at Loyola University of Chicago most closely aligns with the Education pillar, which upholds the need for early neuroscience education. The Loyola University of Chicago program, led by Dr. William Rochlin, Dr. Elizabeth Wakefield, Dr. Demetri Morgan, Dr. Bastiaan Vanacker, and Dr. Jospeh Vukov, has centered its work in neuroethics education to middle and high school students of Chicago. The research mission of the Dana Center at UCLA/CDU, most closely aligns with the Frontiers pillar, which emphasizes the need for public engagement in research. The UCLA/CDU center, led by Dr. Helena Hansen, Dr. Denese Shervington, Dr. Ashley Feinsinger, Dr. Gina Poe, and Dr. Amy Woods, has rooted its research in the south LA community by engaging in bi-directional human-centered design addressing the concerns of the community while learning from their expertise. Additionally, the foundation hopes to open a third center focused on the Dana NextGen pillar, Dr. Montojo shared.
The Dana initatives at UCLA/CDU and Loyola University of Chicago will be directed and managed by the respective university’s faculty and staff in addition to community partners. The Dana Foundation will serve as a support to- and liaison between the universities. In fact, the Dana Foundation has committed to hosting an annual convening where all those involved in the Dana programs can come together to share their successes and findings. Collaboration and sharing is a critical component of these programs helping to facilitate feedback and evaluation to increase their success, During our chat, I asked Dr. Montojo if the Dana Foundation plans to follow the efforts of the Dana programs. She elaborated, “being able to evaluate the impact of the work in neuroscience and society is a major priority for (the Dana Foundation).” In fact, through the initiative, the foundation will directly fund an evaluation consultant. This consultant will work with the university faculty and local communities to develop an evaluation framework outlining the real-world, practical impact of the research programs in cross-sectional spaces. The hope for the evaluator is to establish a way of sharing the success of the programs beyond what is covered in traditional data. “There’s an aspect of storytelling to [evaluate] the impact [the programs] can have on the local communities,” Dr. Montojo stated upon reviewing the role of the evaluator.
Through the university programs, the Dana Foundation, UCLA/CDU and Loyola University of Chicago are creating spaces for the evaluation of neuroscience research. They are asking important questions, such as, how does the community feel about their socio-emotional and mental well-being? Their brain health? How do these feelings fit with the new advancements in neuroscience and neurotechnology? How can the research community include new voices into neuroscience, including community leaders, elders, and young students?
Directly engaging foundations is critical to understanding their theories of change to answer these and many more questions at the intersection of neuroscience and society. Continued engagement is vital as it allows for deeper comprehension of how stakeholders, including funders, are navigating the landscape of neuroscience and society. The current and future projects under the Dana Center Initiative will likely generate important insights that are actionable for many stakeholders.
This is a developing story. Our coverage and analysis will continue as we discuss the Dana Center Initiative with UCLA/CDU and Loyola University of Chicago program leaders.
